Category: Media Review Wednesday

Wednesday Media Review: Pokemon Scarlet/Violet DLC 1: The Teal Mask

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: Though I’m trying to keep it spoiler-free, there are some spoilers to the game’s DLC, so you’ve been warned

For those familiar with my last review of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, I’ve disclosed that the game has two DLC stories announced called The Treasure of Area Zero. The first was The Teal Mask, released September 13th of this year. The Next DLC is known as The Indigo Disk, which is officially announced to be released on the 14th of December of this year. This review will discuss the first DLC for Scarlet and Violet, The Teal Mask.

Summary of the Game

The game is similar to Scarlet and Violet, so if you want to know the gimmicks of S/V, then click here to review Vanilla Scarlet and Violet.
The Story of the Teal Mask picks up with your character going on a school trip led by Ms. Briar to a region called Kitakami, an isolated region near a mountain. Here, we are introduced to the new characters of the DLC. The first are the siblings Carmine and Keiran, two Blueberry Academy students living in Moussi Town.

They serve as your rivals and the guides to Kitakami as you explore this old region and learn of its history and the myth surrounding a group of Pokemon: Ogrepon and the Loyal Three(Monkidori, Okidogi, and Fezandipiti). Alongside the main story is a side story with a Pokemon photographer named Perin, who is here in Kitakami searching for an elusive Pokemon known as the Bloodmoon Ursaluna that lurks in the timeless woods. Your travels will also show you the return of old Pokemon like Vulpix, Sandshrew, and Vikavolt. You’ll see some brand new Pokemon native to Kitakami, such as Polchageist, a Grass/Ghost type resembling an old Japanese Teacup, and Dipplin, a candy apple evolution to Applin. Once your journey ends, you’ll learn the truth about Ogerpon and the Loyal Three. Not to spoil the ending, the story is not what it seems.

Masked Greatness: What makes the game great

The Teal Mask has one benefit that I love, and it’s the whole story of the DLC. Besides the basis of the story, it can be started anytime (before you complete the story or after you do) with the Pokemon scaling in level up to level 60s, so even if you beat the story, you can still get some strong Pokemon.
Another is the return of several Pokemon from the older games. Seeing oldies like Vulpix and Ludicolo is excellent. Still, I love seeing the return of Transfer-only Pokemon such as Shaymin and some Alolan variants of the Kitakami Pokemon like Geodude or Sandshrew.
Lastly, Ogre Oustin’ is one intriguing new mini-game that adds post-game fun. Though I’ve learned that you can’t beat said difficulty on normal or higher, getting items such as Mochi that can adjust Effort values and stats is fun. According to Serebii, completing the most challenging difficulty rewards a rare Shiny Munchlax.

Hidden Flaws: Things that make the game lack

Despite the impressiveness of the DLC, The Story of Kitakami and the region is lacking. The issue boils down to the story; we feel a bit bony. Kitakami, compared to Paldea, feels more petite than usual, and the story kind of ends quickly even when you take your time (It took me two days to complete the DLC), so if you’re expecting a few-day odyssey, you’re going to be a bit disappointed. Finally, the one big issue I feel is annoying is that you don’t have access to out-of-region Pokemon in the Pokedex. In some older games, you could flex between the Native Regional variant and the other variants (such as in Sw/Shi, where you could look at each version of Meowth and Persian). Even with the DLC, you can get a Galarian and Alolan Meowth and still won’t get a dex entry, regardless. However, I hope we see that in the future for Indigo Disc if the leaks are accurate.

Fun Tidbits

Connecting Pokemon Go to your copy of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gives you some great perks and benefits. First, you can transfer Postcards you’ve acquired in Go to Scarlet and Violet; it has the unique ability to change the pattern of Vivillion found in Paldea (as all Paldea Vivillion have the Fancy pattern); this makes acquiring some patterns like the Elegant Pattern, or River Pattern. On Pokemon Go, you gain access to the Coin Bag, which behaves like a similar item, the Mystery Box, for catching Meltan. In this case, the Coin Bag lets you capture the Roaming form Gimmieghouls, a form found exclusively in Pokemon Go (but you do find them in S/V but are not able to capture them)

Conclusion

Does the Teal Mask work well? I’d say it’s an excellent start for Scarlet and Violet. Sure, it’s short, but exploring a whole new area outside Paldea is sound. It also gives some hope for the next part as we explore the fabled Blueberry Academy. Don’t worry; we’ll be doing the review for the next one very soon.

Sources Cited

(Late) Wednesday Media Review: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Written by TheChoujinVirus
Note: The following review may contain some spoilers to the game in general.

Happy Wednesday! It’s ya, boi Choujin. Another year, another Pokemon game was released, as always. Though this time, it’s a whole new ballgame. No, seriously, it is surprising. Released on November 22nd, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. We’re talking about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, or Generation 9, for the Pokemon franchise. It’s known to have its issues, but can they be overlooked for the game in general? Well, then, the only way is to find out.

Gameplay and story summary

Like all Pokemon games, to give a ballpark (to understand the mechanics of Pokemon, refer to my old Sword and Shield review) but to give a recap about the game’s story. You are a trainer in the region of Paldea and a student of the Uva/Naranja Academy (Uva is Violet, and Naranja is Scarlet) during their yearly event known as the Treasure Hunt that takes you all over Paldea, from fighting gym leaders to fighting titans and even a rival gang. You do this adventure with one of the newest starters: Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly.

. This is the game’s feature: Three Stories intertwined instead of one. One story as old as the series is: Traveling Paldea collecting gym badges while battling Nemona on your quest to be Champion. The other stories have a unique take: One has you helping a student named Arven learn the secrets of the Violet (or Scarlet) book and the connection to the Herba Mystica: herbs that can create Titan Pokemon you fight. The last one has you dealing with a gang of student delinquents called Team Star for someone named Cassiopea and their assistant Penny, in which you learn more about the team and their founding. Throughout each of the stories, which can be done in any order and in between, you’re accompanied by a strange Pokemon named Mirridon(Violet) or Korridon (Scarlet), who serves as your mount and mode of transportation throughout the game’s journey. Over time, they can gain unique powers like swimming in water, climbing cliffs, and flying across the skies. There is one final story that explains the origin of the gimmick, but to figure that out, you’ll have to complete the three stories to find out.

Which now moves us to the newest gimmick in Scarlet and Violet. While Gen 6 has Mega Evolution, Gen 7 with Z-Crystals, and Gen 8 with Dynamax/Gigantomax. Generation 9’s new gimmick is called Terastallization. You can activate this feature during the battle and change the Pokemon to its “Tera Type.” For example, a Pikachu with the Flying Tera Type, when Terastallization is activated, will become a Flying type instead of its usual Electric Type, which can override Pikachu’s original weakness and resistance. Also, it becomes more potent if said Pokemon uses the move Terra Blast or a move tied to the Tera Type. In short, Terastallation is useful for offensive or defensive reasons.

But battles aren’t the only new feature introduced. Another feature is the “Let’s Go” feature. Your lead Pokemon can follow you when pressing the LR or R button. They will also automatically attack any Pokemon around them. It makes battles instant and boils them down to Pokemon-type matchups. If the matchup favors your lead, it won’t lose much health; if it doesn’t, it’ll lose health. They can continue until they run out of energy, which they won’t fight anymore. It’s helpful in quickly gaining experience and resources for crafting TMs. Still, in the Team Star fight, dealing with the Star grunts who will send hordes of Pokemon against you is a core feature.

Another exciting feature improved on from Gen 8 is the ability to set up a Picnic. Like in the last gen, you can set up a small area for a picnic where you can wash your Pokemon and two things. First, you can make sandwiches to provide bonuses to your exploration, like a better chance at finding items, gaining more rewards, hatching eggs faster, or even finding shiny Pokemon. It’s also the method of Pokemon breeding. No more days of having to go to a Daycare; your picnic is the daycare. If you also have the Mirror Herb item, one can teach a Pokemon moves it may not learn through TMs or leveling up.

The final new feature introduced is Tera Raids. Throughout the world, you’ll see crystal dens erupting out of the earth. They are known as Tera Dens, which contain rare or valuable Pokemon (usually with a different Tera type). You battle this Pokemon with up to 3 AI-controlled players (or human-controlled players) against this Pokemon in real-time (Which means there’s no turn-based combat in a Tera Raid) as you fight the creature. However, don’t think the battle is easy, as the Tera Raid Pokemon will employ tricks like applying a barrier that requires Terrastation, attacking multiple times, or even removing negative stats from itself while debuffing the whole party. Beat the Pokemon before time runs out to have a chance to capture said Pokemon to your party. There’s so much content that it’s hard to go through much of it, but the game.

Treasured Positives: The good Features

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has many good features, making it a great introduction to Generation 9. One such is evident in the new Terastallation feature. It reminded me of the original gimmick attack from the Gold and Silver games of Gen 2 called Hidden Power. It’s a creative nod to that old move and makes the gimmick more open compared to things.


Another benefit, though not mentioned before, is the Union Circle in the game. You can join up to three other people in your game to have your friends travel with you in Paldea, which, by the way, the open world of Scarlet and Violet allows you to have an authentic Pokemon experience that isn’t railroaded as well as being able to find Pokemon in other versions if your friend has the opposite version. Also, the  Lastly the three stories are fascinating. Without going into spoilers, they fit well into the lore of the Paldea region. They can be tackled in any order with the free roam, though sometimes that leads to some problems in the game.

Not so Treasured Issues: The bad

Though the game is fun, the game has some issues. The obvious Snorlax in the room is the game’s performance issue. The game has moments where performance can flare up, like in some areas of water or environmental things like rain and wind. I’ve had only two crashes in the game so far.
The second issue that feels backward is the lack of customization for the Player Character. In older games up to Gen 6 (with some exceptions), you could customize your trainer in various clothes that made your character stand out. Scarlet and Violet only give you limited choices in uniforms and clothes. No dresses or custom garments. You’re stuck with one uniform with four “Seasonal outfits” as the main, with maybe customizable stuff like hats, glasses, hair, phone case, socks, and shoes. Beyond that, there is nothing much there.
Lastly, the big issue is that there’s not much post-game.
Spoiler alert aside, after beating the game, there’s barely anything beyond Tera Raids, rematching with Team Star’s Admins and the Ace Trainer Tournament. Nothing much outside of that, and it can be annoying.
The upcoming DLCs will add more content to the game, so a review of that will be planned in the future.

Conclusion

Scarlet and Violet, though with some bugs, isn’t a disappointment, in my opinion. Sure, The Pokemon Company may need to slow down the releases. Still, otherwise, the game is a solid addition to this generation.

Note: I will review the gameplay of the DLC when they arrive, so do keep an eye out when it’s done.

Cited Source

https://scarletviolet.pokemon.com/

Thursday Media Review: Pokemon Legends Arceus

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following review contains spoilers to the game, so do not read if you do not wish to be spoiled

Pokemon’s one of the most significant IPs out there, and ya boy’s here have reviewed Pokemon Sword and Shield, and did play Brilliant Diamond/Stunning Pearl (will write a review of that game soon). However, one of the most anticipated titles released for this year since its announcement. Released on January 28th of this year on the Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Legends Arceus is a game that many said has made some very anticipated changes for the franchise for good and maybe helped out the somewhat lackluster Sword and Shield series. Does it stand up to the game? Well, here’s my review of Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Story Summary and Gameplay

PL: Arceus starts with your main character being teleported into the past by the pokemon Arceus, the god of the Pokemon world. He only tasks you with one goal: “Seek out all the pokemon” and teleports you to Hisui, which is Ancient Sinnoh. You meet Professor Lavanton, and after a brief tutorial of the game, you are whisked with him to Jubilief Village and the headquarters of the Galaxy Team. There, you are introduced to your supervisors, Cylene and Commander Kamado, and your rival and fellow corp member Rei/Akari (determined by your character’s gender selected.) Laventon tasks you with compiling the Pokedex of the Hisui Region, all while solving the mysteries of Hisui. Meanwhile, you’re aiding the native Diamond and Pearl clans with the sudden frenzy of their Noble Pokemon. Eventually, more of the world is revealed, and you learn of the mystery of how you were brought here, to begin with, and a final battle with the one who brought you to this ancient land in the first place.

Gameplay-wise, PL: A carries some of the typical pokemon gameplay mechanics of fighting, but you now have some very different things that deviate from the normalcy of the older pokemon games. Pokemon are no longer found in the tall grass and can be found wandering the world, for starters. They can either have three kinds of behaviors: They can be indifferent/friendly toward you, flee from you upon seeing you, or outright attack you if they spot you. Another new thing is that you don’t need to capture Pokemon through battling but indirectly. If you’re sneaky enough, you could launch a Pokeball at an unsuspecting pokemon and catch it without fighting it. Your chance of catching it increases if you use items to stun or distract them.

With aggressive Pokemon, you’ll either need to be more creative or go the old-fashioned way. The aggressive Pokemon can hurt you unless you use your Pokemon or dodge the attack. The screen will darken then go red before you are knocked out and rushed back to the next camp (and lose your items.)

As you progress through the main story, you’ll meet the Noble Pokemon; Pokemon worshipped by the Diamond and Pearl clans as avatars of Almighty Sinnoh. Some Nobles like Wyrdeer, Ursaluna, Basculegion, Sneasler, and Braviary will help you on the journey by lending their strength to traverse the lands faster, fly over it, cross waters and even scale mountains.

Others such as Kleaver and Arcanine need to be quelled due to the effects of that mysterious frenzy. Unlike most old battles where you must fight the Pokemon, Noble Battles behave like some action RPGs where you must reduce their bar to zero, throwing balms at them. Sometimes, if the opportunity arises, you can have your pokemon duke it out with the noble and, by KOing them, doubles the balm’s effectiveness for a short time. Also, should you fall to a Noble, you are given a chance to continue the fight where you left off without resetting the fight.

As your Pokemon gets stronger, they will be able to master some of their moves by leveling or using an item called a Seed of Mastery. Mastery allows you to use actions in either Agile or Strong forms. These forms have their pros and cons.

For example, an Agile move can have a chance of making your pokemon move faster or attack again on the same turn but with weaker damage.

Meanwhile, a Stronger move will be more damaging and accurate but may make your PokemonPokemon slower and vulnerable to an extra attack.

Lastly, when you capture a pokemon in PL: A, you need to fill out the Pokedex more than catch the Pokemon, and that’s it. When you capture them, you need to gather more data on them until it’s completed, like how many of that Pokemon you caught or evolved, where or when you caught them, or if they were doing an action like flying or if they were unaware of you when you caught them.

Legendary Greatness: What made PL: A good?

Pokemon Legends Arceus has some pretty fun aspects of the game. One of them is the open map exploration of the five areas: Obsidian fieldlands, Crimson Mirelands, Cobalt Coastlines, Alabastor Icelands, and Coronet Highlands. Each region has its biomes, environments, and Pokemon found in those environments. It also gives the backstory of what would be ancient Sinnoh.
Another liked is the capture mechanic system. Instead of battling Pokemon, you can catch them unaware and skip the whole thing. Great for catching some strong pokemon without risking harm to your team.

Another liked is the capture mechanic system. Instead of battling Pokemon, you can catch them unaware and skip the whole thing. Great for catching some strong pokemon without risking harm to your team.
Another is the crafting in the game. I didn’t mention this, but in PL: A, you can craft supplies for your inventory. Gathering resources like Apricorns and Oran Berries in the wild, you can prepare them into Poke Balls and potions for your journeys. Crafting is great for saving money on other items or new clothes for your character.

Lastly, you can get ALL The Pokemon. No more split versions in PL: A; you can catch them all without relying on trading or gimmicks that make it very difficult, like in the past. Want a Machoke to a Machamp? Just get a Linking Chord and evolve it! Want Scyther to a Scizor? Just use Metal Coat on it.

Forgotten in the Past: What the game lacks

Though PL: A is excellent, some problems annoyed me or need improvement in these categories.
One such issue is that though the game is excellent, there isn’t much outside of completing the dex or the story. Sure after you finished the Hisui Dex, saved the Hisui region, and such, there isn’t much of anything like trainer battles. You do get some rematch fights in Jubileaf Village and the occasional run-ins with the Miss Fortune trio of bandits and maybe rematches with the Noble Pokemon. Still, beyond it, nothing much once most of the series is complete.
Another problem that can be a bit of an annoyance is some of the new pokemon evolutions. Some Pokemon, like Kleavor, require one item to evolve them, and most trade-equipment items needed for trade evolution were made so simple that they made the game enjoyable. However, some evolutions like Wyrdeer and Overqil require some more unique evolutions, such as using their signature moves being used in combat several times until they’re ready to evolve. Also, my favorite Pokemon, Ursaluna, requires the use of a Peat Block but sadly must be done on a full moon night in-game. That can be frustrating indeed.
Lastly, the issue comes to recovering your items lost if you blackout. If you recall, I said you lose your items if you blackout, but it can be reacquired through a Lost and Found side-mission where you explore the map and retrieve lost sachels left by NPCs or by other players if linked to the internet. Sadly this is the ONLY way to get your lost items back, and you can’t seek them out on your outside if you lose them. Thus you have to rely on the online aspect to retrieve your stuff.

Secrets of the past

Before I go to my conclusion, here are some secrets for those who want to get Pokemon Legends Arceus (info from Serebii.net)
If you have to save Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee data, you’ll access free Pikachu and Eevee Masks.
Suppose you have Save Data of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Stunning Pearl. In that case, you get a double feature: You’ll get access to the Team Galactic outfit (the modern version) and access to a special Request mission that lets you capture Darkrai.
Pokemon Sword and Shield save data do the same but give you access to the pokemon Shaymin and give you a Shaymin.
Though Shaymin and Darkrai do not go toward the Hisui Pokedex requirements, they’re pretty good to have them.

Should you Get it?

As a Pokemon fan, I’d endorse getting Pokemon Legends Arceus if you’re a fan of the franchise. The game’s a big breath of fresh air for a franchise that needs one. Open exploration with creative methods of capturing and battling while taking place in an old region of the past. New forms and evolutions of old Pokemon?

All it’s missing is you setting up a Pokemon league. Though there are whispers and rumors of some kind of DLC, there’s no confirmation of its validity. But hey, a guy can dream can’t they?

References

Thursday Media Review: Yugioh master Duel

written by TheChoujinVirus

Disclaimer: This review may contain spoilers to this game.

Yu-Gi-Oh is a card game that everyone knows about, one of the significant TCGs people have known about for a long time. Yu-gi-oh has many games, with the recent being 2016’s Yu-gi-oh Duel Links. Though released this month of January 19th is the latest incarnation of the game. Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. A game found on Steam, Switch, and on your smartphone. If you’re interested, let’s see how this game goes well.

Brief Summary of gameplay

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel follows the more current rules of Yugioh (Master Rules 2020/2021). One could explain the whole aspect of the game, but here’s a link from the official Yu-Gi-Oh website that gives a better explanation of how to play the game. However, to summarize the game, you play monsters, spells, and traps to reduce your opponent’s life points (LP) to 0 before they can. You have the duel mode, which pits you against other people online, though you have a unique model known as “Solo” mode. The solo mode is the game’s story mode in a sense. Not much of a story except explaining the lore of the archetype you’ll be playing. For example, one of the Solo stories has a cute story explaining the Cyber Bug archetype and its role in that universe. They also teach you how the archetype is played and even some combos that give you a way of what other archetypes can go well or how to play the deck further. The solo content rewards things like cards of the archetype, a free deck of the archetype (think of it as akin to the game’s version of a structure deck), and some good things like cosmetics and gems (the premium currency of the game). Gems are used chiefly for buying booster packs to improve your deck or some cosmetic items such as mats for your cards, sleeves for them, and even little pets that sit on your side on the field (they do not affect the game, but they sit there).

King of Games: What the Game shines in.

The game has so much potential that it makes it impressive. One such example is that compared to Duel Links, you do have a ton of cards to build any archetype you want, from Blue-Eyes to Cyber Dragon and then some. You’re not limited to specific cards. Another benefit is they introduce “Secret Packs” now. What are these Packs? Well, whenever you craft a card in the game or open a master pack, you may get a chance of finding some cards of a specific archetype. These secret packs are more or fewer archetype packs that let you get that core card set without playing gamble with the Master Packs themselves. It also makes investments oh so worth it if you’re building decks. Lastly, the soundtrack is excellent as you get some good music while you duel, and the tone changes whenever things like close to victory or when a boss monster is summoned to the field. It’s got plenty of work.

Dueling Dog: what the game flounders.

Though the game is good, it has some significant flaws. One such is that the game kind of tosses you into the series right away. So new players entering the first time or old players who haven’t kept up with the franchise may be overwhelmed with all the new mechanics. Luckily, the tutorial does teach you the basics, but most of the time, there are some things the tutorials won’t explain that require experience. Another issue is the crafting and premium currency. When building a deck, you’ll be using some UR (ultra rares) staples that can be expensive as you may have to cannibalize some other UR cards to get something viable. I wish they could convert some of the Normal, Rare, and Super rare tab to acquire UR materials without buying boosters. Lastly is the Secret Packs duration. When you unlock them, you only gain access to them for around a day, then you have to get the cards again, which can be inconvenient if you need to get some cards from other aspects. Another and officially final thing is there are no other duel formats. While Duel Links gave us Speed Duels (a format for faster play), master duel only has one format, which is current, which means if you want to play a game with no Link Monsters or Pendulums. So no old days of just playing old-school rules or other formats.

Should you D-D-duel and get this game?

In short, should you get this game? Yeah, you should if you’re a fan of Yugioh. Also, ever since Dueling Network got shut down and Duelist of the Legacy became obsolete with the current gameplay, Yugioh Master Duel’s something that requires you to understand and play. Also, as a former YuGiOh player, it’s something great to do. By the way, I do play the game too and if curious, I roll a Cyber Dragon deck. If you’re interested look up “TCV” and you’ll see me. If you want to add me as a friend, DM me if you want

References

Christmas Media Review: Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX

Written by TheChoujinVirus
Note: The following review may contain spoilers to the games

Merry Christmas everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin with a Christmas gift for you all to enjoy.
I remembered not too long ago, I did a review of the Monster Rancher Anime not too long ago, and I brought up the Monster Rancher anime (I’ll be redoing that in the future as I felt reviewing whole seasons wouldn’t be a good idea.) In that review, I mentioned the game series. You had the original released in 1997 and the 2nd game released in 1999. Through December 9th, 2021, came the release of a game that Koei-Tecmo made before. That is Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, a game port released for Smartphones, Nintendo Switch and Steam. How does this game stack up? Here’s my review of Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX

Summary of the Story

Monster Rancher 1 and 2 have different settings and locations. Still, they all have one story in common: You are a rookie Monster Breeder that is hired by FIMBA(Monster Rancher 1) or IMa(Monster Rancher 2) to raise monsters and become a Master Breeder of monsters.
You usually have two choices of how to get your monsters: a choice of three starter monsters (Eg. Dino, Tiger, and Suezo in MR1; Arrowhead, Zuun, and Mochi in MR2) or using CDs to unlock other monsters. The remake solves the gimmick by providing music/game data that gives you some monsters and some (since modern items do not have access to CD disc drives).
Once you acquired your monster, you now have to do the following to get them ready to fight in battles, like doing jobs or drills to power up your monster or acquire money. Feed your monster to ensure they have the nutrients for training, jobs, and battles. You also make money from side things like jobs and expeditions, though the money you’ll be making will be through the game’s tournaments you’re participating.
Monster Rancher 1 and 2 usually use a Round Robin style tournament (though Monster Rancher 2 gives us Elimination). Winning the matches will usually provide you with money, sometimes a prize like Disc Chips, medicine, and even rare items like a Dragon’s Horn. The Official Tournaments will raise your monster rank, which helps you unlock new monsters, upgrade your ranch, and allow your monster to fight the next grade. Starting at E Rank, you must work your way up to S Rank, then win the Big Four Tournaments to beat the game (MR2 lets you have a new one called the Legend Cup, which immortalizes your monster in the Hall of Fame.) However, it’s not as easy as just doing jobs and going into tournaments. You have to manage everything about your new monster. You have to manage their diet, training routines, when to rest, and lifespan. That’s right, monsters can grow old and die due to many things like giving them too much medicine, forcing them to run ragged, or them getting hurt in tournaments. Luckily you can freeze old monsters and fuse them in the future to make stronger monsters for your progress. You also have Expeditions, which are minigames that allow you to use your monster to explore around a map to search for rare items and stuff to sell or help raise your monsters once acquired. Battles are unique as you manually move your monster between several distances (Far, Mid-Far, Med, and Close). Each range has access to an attack that your monster can use by spending energy known as “Will.” Some attacks will inflict something called Withering, which not only damages but reduces Will on the target. The fight lasts for 60 seconds, and the objective is to either KO your opponent or have more Life than your opponent. Just remember to ensure your monster isn’t KO’d with Low Will as that can badly injure your monster or, worse..kill them in the arena.

Best in Show: What the game excels in

1 & 2 DX solved a lot of the gimmick problem of the old with the music data. You don’t need any third-party device as the whole thing is on the cartridge/game itself; thus, you can play offline without needing a connection. It’s also an innovative way of providing access to monsters that would have been lost due to the modernity of technology. Another is that the monsters themselves look fantastic. Each monster species is unique through various means such as stat growth, moves, playstyles, and even lifespans. Monster Rancher 2 takes the age by adding multiple types of lifespan growths. Some can have normal development, others burn out like a bright candle, and some just are late bloomers. There’s no definite raising method for some monsters. Lastly, the game itself introduces a form of online PvP, which is your monster vs. an AI-controlled opponent of other players (or you can have an AI vs. AI fight.) This has not only brought some ways of battling other players but even brings on competitive tournaments online

Worst Breeder: What the game lacks

One of the most significant issues of the games is that there’s no explanation for the mechanics themselves. First-time players will not know side things like stress management, the lifespan of monsters, percentage, even knowing about the spoil/fear mechanic. Also, not knowing that some drugs and battles will cut lifespans short. Monster Rancher 2 is just as complex as some fans of the game made an advanced third-party viewer needed to better understand the hidden mechanics behind them. It can become annoying with expeditions as you may need 3-4 stats to boost for an expedition monster (Life, Pow, Skill, and Int) and that Int is the factor that can determine your monster’s success (and ensure they don’t get somehow lost in an open field.)
Another problem is the monster unlock mechanics to get some monsters. For starters, to get the Hengar monster in MR1, you have to go to Reno, dig through the ruins for four limbs, then you have to win an A-Rank invitational to win the Doll head to get the Hengar. Then you go back to Reno again when the expedition begins and have your monster (who has 500+ Int). Have it read the tablet to be used, or in Monster Rancher 2, to unlock the Beaclon, you need to feed a Worm 30 Jelly Cups, must be at least four years old in the game, the loyalty of 80 or more, and be C rank or lower and have low to none fatigue and stress.
This makes some monsters unavailable and hard to get when you accidentally unlock a mighty monster from a disc. Lastly, the entire game is more or less an IOS port, which means that Steam and Switch versions are the same and makes things harder to do as you don’t have button modules for controllers (or stuff not known.) This makes playing games a pain to do in some situations.

Should you get it?

Monster Rancher 1 and 2 DX is a game that will give folks a taste of the old games for a generation where the tech made it difficult to emulate. Hopefully, this game can bring a revival of this franchise.

  • Koei-Tecmo
  • Nintendo
  • Steam

(Late) Thursday Media Review: Jingle All The Way

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following review may contain spoilers to the movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuPc9QJcGJs

Christmas is around the corner, and thus the mad shopping for the hottest item for your loved ones is upon us. Folks were a copy of Pokemon Yellow, the newest Tickle Me Elmo doll or the latest gaming console like the Playstation 5 or any hot item someone wanted. The nineties were no exception, especially with comedies. None were iconic than this film made by Brian Levant (Director of films like Beethoven and the live-action Flintstones movie) and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. This movie was none other than 1996’s Jingle All The Way. A film that parodied the crazy Christmas shopping and hot items people went out of their ways to claim it. How does this movie stack up? Well, Let’s explore the film.

Abridged plot summary

The story begins with Howard Langston (played by Arnold Swarzenegger), a workaholic mattress salesman who ends up spending more time with his work than spending time with his wife Liz (Rita Wilson) and Jamie Langston (Jake Lloyd). After missing his son’s karate class graduation, Howard finds that he doesn’t respect him. He learns that Jamie has his eyes set on a superhero called Turbo-Man and thus wants one for Christmas. However, his wife told him to buy it weeks ago, to which Howard had forgotten to buy one. This event leads him into crazy antics as he tries to find a Turbo-Man doll around town. He also has to deal with another father and postal worker, Myron Larabee (Simbad). Howard’s attempt at getting this elusive doll puts him into precarious situations such as brawls in toy stores, into an underground Santa counterfeit ring, a bomb scare, and even right up to a fight at a Christmas parade with him as Turbo-Man himself. It’s a fun movie about a father going out of his way to get a doll for his son.

Turbo-Time: What makes the movie great?

The movie has some great things; one such is the large ensemble of influential names. Besides Arnold and Simbad, you also have some well-known actors like a young, pre-Episode 1 Jake Lloyd playing Jamie. You also have Phil Hartman (of Simpsons and SNL fame), Rita Wilson, and even some side characters like the police officer Arnold runs into is played by none other than The Wild Wild West’s Robert Conrad. Making it an exciting cast of prominent names. You have some comedic moments that will make you laugh, such as when Myron tries to scare Harold and a radio DJ with a fake package bomb, and in irony, it turns out to be a real bomb when the police officer tries to disarm it.

Nobody Likes you Booster: What the movie lacks.

Though the movie has some comedy, some parts do get me puzzled, like with Hartman’s character, Ted Maltin has a side story where he’s trying to make a move. Though sadly, in the end, the only outcome is the second when Ted finds out about Howard’s statement, he leaves (though covered in barf.) Not much of anything or Howard finding out about it.
Another thing is somewhat of the characters themselves. They’re not bad, but some of them make it hard to see. For example, we learn about Myron and why he wanted to get the doll for his kid because his father failed to get him something when he was a child. Some might find it hard to be sympathetic toward him when he does something like a fake bomb scare or even hijacking a parade. Howard isn’t innocent either, as he does do some shady things to get the doll as well. Also, it’s somewhat hard to see Arnold trying to play an American man when some of his accents show up.

Should you watch it?

The good news is that the movie is available on Disney+, alongside its not-so-successful sequel. However, I would strongly suggest watching the first one. The film, though campy, does have some stuff that can make this movie your own personal traditional Christmas movie.

Sources

Thursday Media Review: Animal Crossing Happy Home Paradise (and Update 2.0)

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following may contain spoilers to the game (including new features)

Happy Thursday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here. Not too long ago, I overheard some excellent news from the latest Nintendo Direct. Animal Crossing was getting some new long-awaited content (I took a break last year due to rediscovering WoW and my NCCT classes). The newest game is not a game, but DLC for New Horizon, but it behaves as its own game. Released on November 5th of this year, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise and Patch 2.0 of New Horizon brings some new life into the game in less than a year.

Gameplay+Story

To see my review of the original Animal Crossing New Horizon, please click here to get my review. We’ll be focusing on Happy Home Paradise and 2.0

First off, Animal Crossing Happy Home Paradise’s story more or less picks up after you’ve got three stars and got K.K. slider to perform for your island. You are greeted by Tom Nook, who calls you to meet him at the airport. There you are greeted and referred to a friend of his. Lottie, a pink otter who made her first debut in a previous game Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. She offers you a job for Paradise Planning, a vacation home resort and remodeling business in a large island archipelago chain. You are tasked with designing the animal villagers that visit the island as their dream vacation homes. Alongside Lottie, you have two new characters and co-workers. Wardel, the manatee who runs the Paradise Planning shop where you get to buy some exclusive furniture for your house back on your island; And Nico, the monkey who guides you and gives you tips on how to design your villager’s home. Over time, as you gather more clients for Paradise Planning, you later help out with building facilities for the island such as Schools, Restaurants, Café, a Hospital, and even an Apparel store.

In Happy Home Paradise, compared to New Horizon, you are tasked with designing all villager’s vacation homes. Some villagers will have a specific theme that fits, such as Jacque and his “Very Exclusive Club” themed home or Ketchup’s Tomato-themed room. You put three items that the client requests (and add furniture, wallpaper, and other stuff) and simply design the best house you can do. You’re not just limited to the interior, but also the exterior of their homes too. You can add furniture to the exterior and things like trees, bushes, flowers, and fencing.

Upon completing a job, you’re paid in Poki (the currency of the island). You can use that to buy furniture exclusively from Happy Home Paradise and bring it over to your island (including new ceiling furniture like lights and murals). The more houses you complete, the more the main resort island improves. Through that, you can unlock facilities and new features such as Partitions to give parts of a room a divider between them, background noises for providing an atmosphere, adding a second story to the vacation home, and even allowing roommates to share a house for themselves.

But Happy Home Design isn’t something new as well. Patch 2.0 brings you a whole new feature to the gameplay since Patch 1.3’s return of Diving. 2.0 Brings a ton of features into the game that breathes new life into the game
The first feature introduced is a new form of DIY: Cooking. You can now cook food that you can use as furniture for your house or eat to give you strength (which yields more than eating a single piece of fruit). It also adds 4 new crops (alongside Pumpkins); Tomatoes, Potatoes, Wheat, Carrots, and Sugarcane. They can be used to create various things like bread, smoothies, fish dishes, and various other edibles that your character can whip up.
Another new feature introduced is the return of the Kappa, Kapp’n, and the mysterious island tours. Unlike the airport tours set in a few islands, Kappn’s tours are random and can bring you to various unique times, days, and even seasons. Meaning your island is in the summer, but you can find a winter island out there. This makes it helpful for finding seasonal fish or bugs (I ran into a summer island and caught a ton of stuff).
The game also adds 12 new K.K. songs for you to enjoy, such as K.K. Break (a song many suspected has been influenced by a specific meme), K.K. Lovers and K.K. Polka.
The Roost makes a return, too, bringing back Brewster and his coffee bar back into your village’s museum. Though this time, it now adds a new feature: An Amiibo phone that lets you invite villagers and special characters to the Roost for a cup of coffee (sometimes they may bring others with them, such as Blathers and Celeste). You can also see returning Animal Crossing characters that haven’t made an appearance in years should you use their amiibos, such as Resestti, Chip, Gracie, and Dr. Shrunk. Also returning is the aerobics stretching segment exclusive to physical exercise days from older Animal Crossing titles. Now a minigame you and the villagers can participate in alongside some old companions. That’s right, we got the Gyroids back. These little noisemakers make a return and with a new feature. Sometimes, on a mysterious tour, you may find fragments of these little guys. If you bury the fragments back at your village and then water them, you’ll be able to grow a gyroid. Not only can you do that but customize them to match some colors and thus make them unique to your own house.
Harv’s island has gotten an update too in this expansion. Originally a place to take photos, it now hosts a co-op of various businesses for you to look around. Some of the random roaming villagers like Redd, Kicks, Saharah, and Leif can be found there from time to time selling their goods (or vacant if they’re visiting your town). However, we have four returning villagers. Tortimer, the former mayor and owner of the island, now serves to help you access your home storage inventory. Reece and Cyrus also return to provide their customization services to you. Not only can they do work for stuff that you can do, but they also can do exclusive work that regular DIY customization lacks, such as customizing fences for your village or Nook Mile furniture for your town. Katrina, the fortune teller, returns to do what she does best: reading your fortunes. Lastly, we have Hariett, the hairdressing poodle who can teach you some new hairstyles that you could benefit from.
Lastly, Animal Crossing adds several new and returning villagers from the game. Some of the newest villagers include the likes of Sasha, Cephalobot, and Shino. While the returning villagers are characters not seen in over 20 years since the first Animal Crossing game. Those characters like Chabwick, Ace, Azalea, and Faith give 2.0’s new villager roster a whopping 16 total. Something not seen since 1.9’s return of the Sanrio Amiibo villagers.
In short, there’s a ton of new content that some new and established players will be seeing while playing the game.

Happy Home Greatness: what they provide

The expansion and update provide a ton of unique features that change the game. One such that is enjoyable is the connectivity between Happy Home Paradise and New Horizons. The last Happy Home game didn’t have much connection save for just being a spin-off game. However, Paradise adds interconnectivity for those who bought the DLC. For starters, any furniture you buy from the island can be used in your village as well, and some of the DIY recipes you’ve created can also be used in decorating your own house. Also, you can bring your villagers to the resort by gifting them souvenir chocolates. This gives some players with no amiibos a place to give their favorite villagers to visit from time to time.
Another feature that makes the expansion good is the convenience of Kappn’s Tours and Harv’s island. Initially, one would have to travel or visit another person’s island to find some fish or bugs at a specific season. Now with the return of Kapp’n and his tours, you can have a chance to fill the fish and thus not worry about the fear of missing out. Also, Harv’s island and the co-op allow you to visit some wandering merchants for a chance at some stuff you missed or mostly in hopes of finding what Redd has for sale to fill the museum.
The last feature one would find interesting is the cooking. This was a feature many animal crossing fans wanted in since forever and hinted in some games. It also allows folks to make use of some fish like Sea Bass, Red Snappers, and pumpkins for other than bells or one-time furniture for a specific Holiday.

Beestings: what the game lacks

Though the game is fun, it has some problems that make it moot and annoying, at worst, when it comes to it.
One such example, of course, is not all features of Happy Home Paradise can be used in New Horizons. What I mean is that though you can create isles and partitions for your home and others, features like background noises, lighting, expanding the room, and adding a second story are exclusive to Happy Home Paradise. This can feel real disappointing for those who unlocked the feature of being able to redecorate your villager’s homes back on your island (and there are talks about a game-breaking bug that can ruin your game if using this feature.)
Another issue is that though we get to see some older villagers return through the patch or amiibos, not all the villagers have returned. I’m talking about the crossover villagers. These villagers were tied to other games when using amiibos from those games such as The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Monster Hunter. Though we did get the return of the Sanrio villagers, it’s disappointing that some like Felyne, Wolf Link, and Inkwell haven’t made a return back to the game. These characters were pretty popular for a ton of reasons and made using non-Animal Crossing amiibos helpful.
Lastly, though the game has some great perks, the major problem is it’s locked behind time. For example, when you’re building shops for the co-op, you can only donate a max of 100k per day, meaning those billionaires who hoarded bells will be prevented from day 1 from getting the plaza done. Kappn’s tours are more or less locked one tour per day. It is understandable as one could go around and farm bells or fill their museum of bugs and fish; however, that’s an annoying feature that makes it feel padded.

Conclusion: should one get the game?

Happy Home Paradise and 2.0 adds some new life into a game and gives folks a taste of what live patches Animal Crossing New Horizon may have in store for the future. For those who took a break from the game, it’s a good incentive to return while those playing for a year will find new features to explore.

Addendum: As of 11/11/2021, confirmed by Youtuber Crossing Channel, a hotfix was released for the designer bug that would brick your game if you designed people’s homes back on your island.

References

Thursday Media Review: Final Fantasy 1&2: Dawn of Souls

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following review may contain spoilers to the game

Happy Thursday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

Not too long ago, I overheard about the Pixel Remaster release of Final Fantasy 1 through 6; it got me feeling nostalgic for my first introduction to the final fantasy remakes. Of course, the first game to be re-released was Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II (and we mean the actual Final Fantasy II, not Final Fantasy IV that was released in the US years ago.) First, we had Final Fantasy Origins for the Playstation in 2002. Though that game is not our focus. Released on July 29th of 2004 and later on November 29th in North America and December 9th in Europe in the same year. This game is Final Fantasy 1&2: Dawn of Souls. This version improved the original Origins and would later be the source material for future portable remakes of the game series. Does this game stand over its predecessor and the Pixel Remastered successors? Well, one way is to find out…

Brief Story Summary

Final Fantasy 1 and 2 cover two different games, but none are tied to one another. In the first Final Fantasy, the world is plagued by the four fiends that throw the elements of Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water into total Chaos. Your group is four warriors of light, each holding a shard of crystal and tasked with defeating the fiends, reigniting the crystals, and defeating the source of the problem in the world.
Final Fantasy II has you play a band of four heroes: Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon. They are tasked with joining a rebel army to defeat a villain known as Emperor Mateus Palmecia by braving the world riddled with monsters, Empire soldiers, and various other missions to free the world of this deranged king. Along the way, you gain assistance from others like Joseph, who helps you secure Mithril for the Rebellion, Leila, the pirate who gives you a ship to sail the seas, and Minwu, who helps you unlock the most potent spell in the world.

Gameplay summary

Both 1 and 2 behave vastly differently from each other, but the core concepts are the same. You control a band of four characters as you head from one part of the world to another dealing with monsters that arrive. In Final Fantasy 1, at the start of the game, you’re given a choice of six classes to fill your party of four. You have the heavily armored Warrior, the nimble thief, the iron-fisted Monk, the destructive Black Mage, the helpful white mage, and the versatile Red mage. Each one provides something to the group. For example, Warriors provide heavy protection and attacks, White Mages can provide healing spells, Black Mages can use offensive spells, and Thieves can increase the chances of finding items after fights and more preemptive strikes. Each class has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Red Mage (and Red Wizard) can learn both White and Black magic but cannot learn the most potent White and Black magic. The Monk (and Master) has the most substantial attack power in the game, but it cannot benefit from reliable equipment and has a low Hit-Point growth meaning it’s a glass cannon. With a limit of four, you can’t choose all of them. Therefore, your choices matter as you can’t change classes when done. So be careful if you want to go with four white mages. Final Fantasy 2, on the other hand, doesn’t rely on building your part as you start out with three (initially four) members. Though as the first game has you choose classes of your specialty, the heroes of Final Fantasy 2, on the other hand, don’t need to have it. Instead, it ops in using Dynamic Leveling (which requires proficient stats to level up your character.) For example, repetitive use of spellcasting will enhance your spell’s proficiency and the stat associated with the spell and the Magic Point (MP) pool. The same with taking blows may enhance your HP and defenses. In a way, the game encourages you to build up your character’s skills by fighting monsters before progressing (which is helpful in Final Fantasy 2).
Combat in both games is similar. You wander the dungeon or open-world until a random encounter occurs. Your party must defeat the enemy through melee attacks, spells, or item usage to beat your foes, or you get killed (either by wipe or stuff like Stone). Once you’ve defeated your enemies, you gain experience (numbered or dynamic), and sometimes you can get some items and spellbooks. That’s right, in both games, you learn spells through buying spellbooks for your casters. Final Fantasy 1 has you buying up to 3 spells per spell level (it’s complex), but the White, Black, and Red can learn up to three spells from their schools of magic. If you want to learn that spell of that category, you’re going to have to drop a spell if you reach that limit. Final Fantasy 2 has a unique means as anyone can learn spells from white or black magic. Though each attack uses a specific stat (Black uses Intelligence and White uses Spirit). They also start at level 1 but become stronger the more they’re used as they level up. By battling and combatting the enemies, your party will become strong enough to deal with the big bad evil guys at the end of each game and eventually save the world.

Fantastic Heroics: What makes the game awesome.

Final Fantasy 1 and 2 have some beautiful features that make the game likable and enjoyable. The first thing is that the games are faithful remakes of the original game. The GBA version is an impressive remake that follows a version similar to the Wonderswan Color for those who grew up with the original Final Fantasy. Updating the game’s graphics to something to their 8-bit counterparts. Another thing is that the game introduces bonus content into the series. In the first Final Fantasy game, after defeating Tiamat, you have the side mission of exploring the Bonus Dungeons (named Soul of Chaos in the PSP version), which have you exploring four bonus dungeons for rare loot and potent weapons by fighting monsters. Best of all, the monsters are bosses from later games such as the Echidna from Final Fantasy 3 in the Earthgift Shrine, Scarmilione in the Hellfire Chasm, Gilgamesh in the Lifespring Grotto, and Ultros in Wisperwind Cave. A very excellent introduction to new players to future bosses and an old throwback to veterans who played the games.
Final Fantasy 2’s bonus content is a xenologue called Soul of Rebirth, which continues a side story of Minwu, Josef, Scott, and Ricard as they solve a mystery of why they’re in the land of the dead and why they were all brought here. It’s a beautiful part that gives some plot about what happened to them later in the story.
Lastly, the game’s music is impressive for something handheld on the GBA, as the remix music does have a bit better than what one could find in the first version. Hearing the remix of the Four Fiends fight, or even Palmecia’s final battle theme, is very impressive and something one might not expect to see from the game’s simple quality.

Total Party Wipe: What is the game’s problem

Though Dawn of Souls has some great features, some problems make the game slightly unfun. For both veteran and new players, the spell system in Final Fantasy seems a bit outdated and a handful. For example, as a White Mage, to heal specific spell statuses, you have to learn said specific spell to purge things like poison, silence, and Stone. Though Final Fantasy 2 gives us the magic Esuna that can cure all status conditions. The limited spell slot in 1 makes the game oh so complex and cumbersome.
Another problem is found in 2’s Dynamic Leveling system. The system is creative and innovative, but it’s a huge pain. To become proficient in a weapon, you have to constantly keep using it (including shields), which can be a pain if you want to be a weapon master. Learning new spells is the same, too, as all newly discovered spells start at level 1. This is a pain when you find some of the most potent spells like Flare, Holy, and Ultima, as you have to fight monsters just to make them up to snuff.
Lastly, though basically fun, the game doesn’t have any kind of guidance that future games introduce. It’s easy to get lost without a guide. In the first game, you are only guided to Garland in the Chaos Shrine, and afterward, you’re given full exploration later in the game, which, while good, can be a pain as some core aspects may require you to know. One such is the trials to unlock your party’s class upgrade, which can be forgotten unless you look it up. Final Fantasy 2’s content isn’t that problematic as the game does provide you a hint of where to go and where to progress. It’s not that bad, but still, you may need a guide to figure out situations.

Fun Easter Egg

In Both games, there’s a tiny easter egg that one can enjoy: Two minigames are found in each game.
The first game is a slider puzzle in Final Fantasy 1. Hold A, then Press B 23 times while aboard your boat, and you’ll unlock a sliding puzzle. Completing the puzzle at specific times will reward you with random items in your inventory, so it’s a fun game.
The second game is found in Final Fantasy 2. While in the snow craft, hold A, then press B 22 times, and you’ll unlock a memory game. Complete it with minimal misses, and you can claim some good items. Also, if any of your members have learned the Toad spell, you can unlock a variant of the same memory game but with toads. Completing those will reward you with equipment instead of items.

Verdict, is it worth it?

Final Fantasy 1&2 Dawn of Souls is a decent game (and for those who want to play the game but have no access to a GBA, the closest is the PSP version is viable as it’s viable to access due to having the same content and then some. However, if you want to play a game for a portable like the GBA, this game is the go-to. Is it better than Pixel Remasters? In ya boy’s opinion? Yes.

References

Nintendo’s official Final Fantasy 1&2 Player’s guide

GBA commercial trailer uploaded by IGN

Media Review Thursday: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following review is based on my experience with the first main game of the MMO: A Realm Reborn; there is some merged-based content from other expansions (e.g., Races, etc.). Also some spoilers to the game itself.








With the World of Warcraft mess happening, some folks move to other MMOs until things are fixed or stay there forever. From the old Star Wars: The Old Republic to the newly released New World. However, one game I got into, thanks to the WoW Guild I was in, got my interest in the series (and it’s a series I’ve known since I was a kid.)

Originally released September 10th, 2010, then unceremoniously shut down to be remade and restarted on August 13th, 2013 as A Realm Reborn. Final Fantasy XIV is an MMO that has a following through each platform. Though can Eorzea stand while under the shadow of Azeroth? Let’s explain a bit of the game and see if it A Realm Reborn does stand the time a second time around.

Story+Gameplay

The brief story of FFXIV’s A Realm Reborn can be summarized into this. Five years ago (the first FFXIV), the Calamity resulted in the world nearly being devastated as the Alliance and the high-tech Garlean Empire waged war at Carteneau. The moon reawakens as the primal Bahamut, thus ravaging the world and both sides. You, a survivor of that incident (If you had a character made in the first 1.0 game), or waking up on a cart after a dream on your way to your chosen city in order. You start out helping your town with several problems and learn more about the land, the threats, and the enemies to Eorzea. Throughout your journey, you help out Alliance, A group composed of three nation-states: Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, and Ul’Dah. The groups must deal with the warlike beastmen and their Primal Gods and the resurgence of the Garlean Empire and their new weapon. All while solving the mystery of your character’s role in this ordeal as well as exposing a shadowy enemy pulling strings….

Gameplay-wise, FFXIV behaves like a typical MMO with your class triad system of DPS, Tank, and Healer classes. Though Each of them is categorized into four categories.

The first group is your offensive jobs: Disciples of War and Disciples of Magic. War is composed of physical groups like the Pugilist, Archer, and Rogue. At the same time, Magic is your spellcasters like Conjurers, Arcanists, and Black Mages. The other two Disciples are crafting and gathering called Disciples of Hand and Land. The exciting thing about the crafting professions is that they behave less like typical MMO variants of preparing gear or weapons. You have abilities like recover “durability,” increase completion, and even increases chances of producing high-quality items (Which can be better than some quest equipment.)

The combat classes, on the other hand, have nothing much change save for more cooldowns. However, they are more action and combo-based than WoW’s rotations. Each class also behaves uniquely, meaning some types may have a specific role but have ways of doing it differently than others. For example, though the Bard and Dancer are ranged DPS, one is more offensive buffs like the Bard. At the same time, the Dancer provides a more offensive healing ability. Another is how both the Paladin and Dark Knight are tank classes. Still, while the Paladin uses powers to protect and heal themselves, the Dark Knight uses debuffs to weaken the targets they’re attacking. Besides combat on the field and in dungeons, you also have Player Vs. Player combat, and if you’re bored with that, you got the cute minigame of the Mandeville Gold Saucer. It is a large casino with various minigames like Triple Triad, Chocobo Racing, Mahjong, and other games for you to enjoy. Perfect for when you’re not attacking bosses or waiting for your Extreme Trial.

Bearers of Light: What the game shines in

One of the core aspects of the game’s shining moments is the story and quests. A Realm Reborn’s Main Story Quests have you doing missions that aren’t the usual “Kill and bring me back four bear asses” routine seen in MMOs like WoW. They also provide worldbuilding of the location, Eorzea’s worldbuilding, and various events that can unlock features. Most will have you visiting a destination or talking to people. You have missions that have you killing or collecting, but you have more guaranteed chances than just having to kill 10 animals for one part.

Another benefit is that in FFXIV, your character can be any class. That’s right, your character isn’t locked to the class they start in the game. You can choose to change styles freely. Bored as a Monk? Maybe become a Blue Mage! Maxed out your carpentry skills? Maybe try out fishing or even leatherworking. You don’t need to roll a new character to try out jobs. Also, no race is locked out of jobs or professions, so you can be a lalafel dragoon as well as a lalafel white mage. Also, professions are in the same thing as you’re not limited to just one job.

Lastly, the music. The game has some fantastic music that is enjoyable. Mounts have their own theme, some bosses have their own tunes, towns and regions have their own songs, and you can see some remixed themes like the Triple Triad theme or Chocobo Racing theme. The music is oh so enjoyable. My favorite themes happen to be Titan’s theme (which has an awesome rock theme, no pun intended.) And the theme for Good King Moogle Mog, as it’s very Tim Burton-esque.

Blundered Moogle Crap: What the game flops in

Though the game has plenty of fun, some problems in the game itself can be a detriment. One such example is the story. Though the story is good, it’s very, very, very long! In a Realm Reborn, you have the main story and the post-patch stories that fill in between ARR and the first expansion Heavensword. For new players, A Realm Reborn can be a make-or-break experience in the game itself.

Another problem is that though your character can be whatever they want to be, it cheapens any investment into your character. You can just change gear or jobs like that without needing anything required. A significant problem is that player customization is not as accessible as some expect, though simple. Also, some races cant wear helmets like the Viera races. Also, until the new expansion of Endwalker arrives, you cannot play Male Viera or female Hrothgar.

Lastly, the game is pretty casual. If you’re the kind who rushes to endgame as fast as you can, you’re going to find that there’s no reward for speeding to the end. It’s kinda like a fine wine you savor and not a soda you guzzle. It can be a turn-off for some people, but I enjoy it.

Should you Bear the light of the Crystal? My conclusion.

If you want an MMO in an era of WoW’s decline due to whatever reason you believe. FFXIV’s got some good deals and items for the time being out there. If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy and want to enjoy content without the rush of raid preparation or other things that you might find in other MMOs.

I would say go for it and explore Eorzea. Oh, and if anyone’s interested, I could lend a refer a friend if you want. Just put into the comments and I’ll lend a refer-a-friend if you are interested. Not shilling for the game or anything, I just find the game interesting and such.

References

All youtube video sources are credited to their uploaders, all screenshots and usage belong to Square Enix

Thursday Media Review: Stellaris

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following review may contain spoilers to the game itself.









Space: the final frontier; These are the geopolitical and expansionistic voyages of the Not Imperium of Man. Its ongoing mission, to purge dangerous Xenos, to seek out all threats in the name of the God-Emperor, to boldly Exterminatus like no one has done before…

No, it’s not a poorly written Star Wars and 40k Crossover; it’s a popular Paradox game called Stellaris. Released on May 9th, 2016, and released in 2019 for the consoles, lastly on the Xbox Series X/S in 2021. It’s a 4x Strategy game similar to those like the Civilization series. (it was inspired by games like Master of Orion 2 and Star Control 2, according to Director Henrik Fahraeus). So does this game stack up to those kinds of games? Well, that’s what ya boy’s here to do: Let’s jump into light speed and get into Stellaris.



Gameplay

Stellaris isn’t a game with a default story, as YOU get to make the story in the gameplay. You have a choice of several premade empires to play. However, suppose you’re adventurous, a role-player, or someone who loves other sci-fi races. In that case, you can build your own alien races from the various stocks. Regardless of what you do with your empire, the objective of the game is simple: Become the supreme power in the galaxy while surviving the various threats the game will throw at you, such as dreaded leviathans, rival empires, vengeful fallen empires, catastrophes, space pirates, and even marauders led by great kahns. Luckily, your empire (built or created) has unique abilities to help you out. Maybe your species are very hearty at gathering resources, your government’s ethics giving you better upkeeps. Perhaps your origin providing you with an edge like having your own personal gateway in your system, Or maybe you’re just a space version of Skynet wanting to purge meat bags. In Stellaris, there’s more to the game than colonizing worlds, expanding your empire, and crushing your enemies. There is a galactic political aspect to the game too. You’ll have to please your empire’s political parties or galactic neighbors—things like how you treat pre-spacefaring civilizations, planetary refugees, or liberating slaves. So be careful if you’re the kind who runs xeno-slave rings or just an outright douchebag. Cuz it can lead you to be blocked off through border closing or even having a war at your doorstep. You have resource management as well, as your empire needs to be happy. Resources like Ammenties are required to ensure your workers can afford to work. You need jobs to ensure things like consumer goods or law enforcement to ensure crime can’t thrive. By the near end of the game, you’ll deal with a mechanic called a Crisis, which is something that’ll wipe everyone out if no one is careful or prepared. Depending on the whole galaxy is your plaything or battleground, you can make it a utopia or constant warfare.


Galactic Wonders: What makes the Game good

Stellaris has many impressive features that folks will enjoy. One such thing that the gameplay is variable but can be customizable to fit whatever you or other players will like. Maybe you don’t want marauders in this galaxy or make things harder with fewer hyperlanes or other items. Sure, you can’t get achievements if you play it this way, but it’s something impressive. The second thing that the game has a TON of content. Some of the newest content provides new gameplay and even new empires. For example, Synthetic Dawn introduces Mechanical empires into the mix, and Lithoids give you Rock aliens to play. Megacorp introduces the ability to play Megacorporation Empire, which lets you build branch offices (or criminal undergrounds) in some empires. Lastly, Nemesis’s latest expansion not only introduces espionage but allows you to BE the endgame crisis. The final and personal favorite thing in this is that the game has a thriving modding community. Usually, ya boy isn’t fond of needing mods to experience a game, but Stellaris makes having mods enjoyable. Some of them are cosmetic or add a feature into the game. One such mod I could suggest is NSC2. It’s a mod that provides a TON of quality of life features, new ships, buildings, and other cool features that makes playing a bit easier and less tedious. Another mod that makes things enjoyable (and realistic) is Planetary Diversity. It’s a mod that fills your galaxy with various planetary biomes like Tidal-locked worlds, primal worlds, and even the strange luminous worlds. Whatever you want in your Stellaris game, there’s a mod for it.


Black Holes: What the game lacks

Though the game is good, some problems can be a buzzkill while playing. One such is that though the game is fun, it’s very complicated due to all the various things to manage. Things like managing Empire Sprawl, so you don’t go over, ensuring your empire upkeep doesn’t produce deficits. Ordering your envoys for empires and even keeping an eye out on planet populations. Those things can lead to people feel intimidated when playing the game for the first time. Another problem with Stellaris is that the multiplayer setup can be a pain. Sure, you can play against AI empires; it’s the player empires that work. The issue is that the constant content and DLC in the game means that some people will have to get the content and DLC needed. Meaning if someone doesn’t have any content, they won’t be able to join the session. The last thing that can be a pain and a turn-off is this: The game has a TON of content. Sure it’s nice and all, but sometimes it can be overwhelming to experience the entire game itself. So picking and choosing each DLC can be a pain in the wallet if you want ALL The content. Luckily, the developers have made some packs available in bundles.



Star surprises

Some may not have noticed, but Stellaris has several easter eggs found throughout the game. One example is Warhammer 40k, as you have things like the Gene Seed Purification technology and the Devouring Swarm government for hiveminds. You even have references from the likes of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the galaxy and some references from Sid Meir’s Alpha Centauri. There are so many things linked, but the link here will explain the whole thing here.

Galactic ambition: Should you get this game?

In conclusion to my review of Stellaris, I’d say that it’s a game that’s not your mother’s Civilization or Red Alert. Suppose you like to play games that involve heavy micromanagement with a sci-fi twist, or you’re just a 40k Fanboy who wants to be the God-Emperor of your own Imperium. In that case, I’d suggest you get this game and enjoy it. Ya Boy enjoys this game and uses it to help with worldbuilding his empires for his stories.

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